It appeared briefly Federer might drop the first set as at five all he hit three forehand errors and a doublefault to lose serve and go down 5-6. In the next game Djokovic would hold five set points before doublefaulting himself to enter the tiebreaker. Federer raced to an early lead in the tiebreaker after winning a 21 stroke rally and won the final point on another Novak doublefault.

"He knows what it feels like to be in that kind of situation. He knows how to cope with the pressure," Djokovic said.

In set two forceful play from Djokovic resulted in leads of 4-1 and then 6-5. Federer however would raise his level of play to run away with the remainder of the match. The US Open win was the 12th overall grand slam title for Federer.

"New guys challenging me -- this is my biggest motivation out there," Federer said. "Seeing them challenging me, and then beating them in the finals."